THE CRAFT
Rockin’ Knit Night
In my childhood bedroom at mom’s there’s a red roll of yarn attached to a shabby seven-inch square — the scarf I started making when my Granny Grunt Grunt (don’t ask) taught me to crochet at age nine. Never one to throw anything away, I thought about

As the holidays inch closer and closer, galleries and museums in Tacoma are ramping up for Third Thursday Art Walk Dec. 20. Since it’s only five days before Christmas, we figured the museums at least, and perhaps a few galleries, would be doing something festive. We were a bit disappointed,

holiday
Paradise Theatre is staging one of the funniest holiday shows ever written. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is a kind of show that is a side splitter for anyone who has ever been involved with a holiday pageant.
[Paradise Theater, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday, $8-$18, 9911 Burnham Dr.

There are a few times in history when there is a perfect marriage between particular people and the times in which they live. Winston Churchill was the absolute right person for Britain during the early days of World War II. He managed to keep his country together in the face

The holidays can be stressful and kind of a pain in the ass. Between getting sap all over your icicle fingers cutting down a tree, draping the electric blue lights over every inch of the house, trying to convince mom that you only need one box of tinsel this year,

Ed. note: Matt Driscoll reviewed Santarchy on our blog, Spew.
Finally, anarchy is coming to Tacoma, and it’s wearing a Santa suit. Well, hopefully hundreds of Santa suits. The pan-continental holiday riot known as Santarchy could easily be denounced as just another excuse to get s***faced — like wedding receptions or

While Broadway, the hub of theatrical experiences in Tacoma, can be a great place to catch a show — or even buy tickets as a great gift idea — there’s more here than just theaters. Shopping in the area is diverse and fun with long-standing and hidden treasures awaiting shoppers.

The epicenter of Tacoma’s nightlife features reasons to visit it by day as well.
Sixth Avenue is known for great dining and nightlife with Asado (2810 Sixth Ave., 253.254.0560) and Masa (2811 Sixth Ave., 253.254.0560) run by John Xitco and Primo Grill (601 S. Pine St., 253.383.7000) and the Crown Bar

In its inception, Stadium High School was to have been a luxury hotel. Instead it became a high school whose history goes back 100 years. The turrets and architectural features of the building can be appreciated, sure, but it’s more the soul of the building that creates the neighborhood and

30 DAYS OF NIGHT: Barrow, Alaska, said to be the northernmost town in America, undergoes 30 days without sun every winter, which makes it an ideal holiday haven for vampires. The townsfolk, led by Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, do battle against ravenous vampire hordes led by Danny Huston, in

I wonder if his family knew Noah Baumbach was taking notes? First in “The Squid and the Whale” and now with “Margot at the Wedding,” he puts an intelligent but alarming family under the microscope and finds creepy-squirmy things crawling around. Of course, there is no reason to be certain

“The Golden Compass” is a darker, deeper fantasy epic than the “Rings” trilogy, “The Chronicles of Narnia” or the Potter films. It springs from the same British world of quasi-philosophical magic, but creates more complex villains and poses more intriguing questions. As a visual experience, it is superb. As an

Do not believe anything you hear about "Awake," do not talk to anyone about it, and above all do not even GLANCE at the poster or ads, which criminally reveal a crucial plot twist. This movie, which was withheld from critics and has scored a pitiful 13 percent on the

The Northwest has never exactly had a funk scene; our bleak and bitter winters aren’t exactly conducive to music that really grooves. For a band to take that road is a commitment to a genre wrought with kitsch, almost guaranteeing that they’ll be playing to a niche, but Seattle’s Velella

In case there were any doubts, Bobble Tiki is not a lesbian, and he’s not bi-sexual. Bobble Tiki doesn’t claim to know a lot about himself, but if there’s one thing he feels like he has a grasp on it’s his sexual preference. Sure, there was that one time in

Quick, how many Grammy nominated bands are playing Maggie O’Toole’s this week?
If you said “None, Matt Driscoll is obviously high,” you’re only half right.
As it turns out, Red, a Nashville-based alternative Christian band, does have a Grammy nomination under their God-fearing belt. And they’ll be plugging in at Maggie’s this

It’s not easy to be happy. It might surprise you to know that making cheerful music that doesn’t sound cheesy is a challenge for many musicians. When I hear a band that is making happy music that doesn’t involve lyrics about getting wasted or carving initials in leather seats, I